Railfan Photo Line - April 2014

Western Maryland Scenic Railroad 2-8-0 no. 734 with an eastbound train at Helmstetter’s Curve, Maryland, in 2003. An exhibit of prints by photographer Victor Hand will be on display at the 2014 "Conversations about Photography" hosted by the Center for Railroad Photography & Art in and Lake Forest College at Lake Forest, Ill., on May 16-18. Victor Hand will be speaking after the welcome dinner on May 16. Photo by Victor Hand

2014 "Coversations about Photography" Preview

Photos courtesy Center for Railroad Photography & Art

Welcome to Photo Line! Founded in 1997, the Center for Railroad Photography & Art, works with photographers, writers, and historians around the world to offer a new and unprecedented view of the railroad's influence on American culture through the preservation and presentation of art and photography. The Center does not maintain a museum space but collaborates with other institutions, using the majority of its resources for creative programs. Since the beginning, the Center's goal has been to offer high-quality public programs associated with photography and art works in all media. Their annual "Conversations about Photography" sets the pace for national discussion about contemporary railroad photography and encourages young photographers to become a part of the community. Consider attending their twelfth annual "Conversations" conference, May 16-18, 2014, on the campus of co-sponsor Lake Forest College in Lake Forest, Illinois. Here is a sampling of some of the work from this year's presenters.

Jeff Brouws

Photographer unknown (Jeff Koerner Collection), Southern Pacific Railroad, Men on top of boxcar learning hand signals, Los Angeles, 1940s. Jeff Brouws will discuss some of the discoveries he made while assembling his latest book, Some Vernacular Railroad Photographs.

Scott Conarroe

“Loop Canyon,” Chicago, Illinois, 2007, from his series titled "By Rail." He will talk about his "By Rail" photography project, which looks at Canada and the United States and their rail infrastructure.

Mike Danneman

"Meet at Carracas" 16"x20" acrylic on canvas board, 1999. The famed Denver & Rio Grande Western narrow gauge San Juan passenger trains meet at Carracas, New Mexico, in a scene captured on canvas by artist Mike Danneman. Mike Danneman and Ron Flanary are jointly presenting on the intersections of photography and painting in their own work.

Ron Flanary

Southern Railway 3291 leads 96 empty cars across the Baum Hollow Trestle at Big Stone Gap, Virginia, on April 26, 1985. Mike Danneman and Ron Flanary are jointly presenting on the intersections of photography and painting in their own work.

Travis Dewitz

An eastbound BNSF grain shuttle train crosses the high, frozen plains near Wolf Point, Montana, on February 27, 2010. Travis Dewitz will talk about his personal approach to railroad photography.

Blair Kooistra

Rio Grande trains meet in the Utah desert on June 12, 1989. Blair Kooistra will share highlights from his five decades of railroad photography and the influences of his photojournalism background.

George Gloff (presented by Kevin Keefe)

This George Gloff painting is from the article “Rio Grande Revisited” in the April 1965 issue of Trains. Mixed media, 16 x 22 inches, Kalmbach Publishing Co. collection. Kevin Keefe will discuss the life and artistic career of the late George Gloff and his impact on Trains magazine.

Kathi Kube

On the morning of August 13, 2008, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a crewmember helps prepare Milwaukee Road 4-8-4 steam locomotive no. 261 for a run down the Mississippi River. Kathi Kube will discuss her development as a railroad photographer as someone whose interest emerged as an adult, rather than in childhood.

John Gruber

A nun walks through the cathedral-like columns of Chicago Union Station in 1964. Center founder John Gruber will discuss his experiences photographing CUS during the a time of transition in the 1960s.

Photography of the Transcontinental Railroad (presented by Glenn Williamson)

Stereograph by Alfred A. Hart showing the Central Pacific in California, circa 1866, and titled, “Bound for the Mountains, 12 mile Tangent—4 miles from Sacramento.” Glenn Willumson, art history professor at the University of Florida, will share photographs of the first transcontinental railroad by A.J. Russell and Alfred Hart from his recent book, "Iron Muse: Photographing the Transcontinental Railroad."

For more details about the 2014 "Conversations about Photography" conference and other important programs, please visit the Center for Railroad Photography & Art's web site at www.railphoto-art.org.

Railfan Photo Line welcomes your submissions. We're looking for a themed topic (and "theme" can be interpreted fairly broadly) with five to eight photos. Each photo should be no smaller than 14 inches (or 1024 pixels) across at 72 dpi (no verticals, please). Brief caption information must accompany each photo. Please send your inquiries to the Webmaster for consideration.